Kerry Independent TDs spent almost €80,000 in 2022 from an allowance for parliamentary activities.
Details of the funding available, and the expenditure under the Parliamentary Activities Allowance during 2022, was published by the Standards in Public Office Commission.
The allowance applies to political parties, and to independent elected TDs and Senators.
Fianna Fáil spent the most of any party from the allowance received in 2022, at over €2 million.
The annual allowances are paid to leaders of parliamentary parties, to cover expenses arising from the party’s parliamentary activities.
Independent members of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann also receive the allowance, and both political parties and independents are required to furnish statements of expenditure for these allowances.
These statements are audited by a public auditor, and the funding may not be used for election or referendum expenses, or to recoup such expenses.
Elected Independent TDs receive an annual allowance of €38,882, and this was received by Kerry Independent Deputies Michael and Danny Healy-Rae in 2022.
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae’s statement declares he carried over €10,000 of this funding from 2021, and then spent over €41,000 from the allowance during 2022, meaning he had a closing balance of €7,671.
Over €40,000 of his expenditure under this allowance was declared as research and training, with the remainder spent on consultant services and entertainment.
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae’s statement declares he carried over €4,589 of the funding from 2021, then spent just under the full allowance he received during 2022, leaving him with a closing balance of just over €5,200.
Of this expenditure, €24,200 was spent on research and training, over €12,500 on policy formulation and €615 on consultant services.
He also declared €875 expenditure for the provision of technical or specialist advice likely to be required in connection with legislative proposals or potential parliamentary initiatives.
The Independent TD with the most expenditure under this allowance in 2022 was Tipperary Deputy Mattie McGrath at over €53,000.
Spending from this allowance for political parties in 2022 ranged from over €2 million by Fianna Fáil to just under €72,000 by Aontú, with the vast majority of Fianna Fáil’s expenditure declared as general administration of parliamentary activities.
